Red Mansion Beijingwang

Chapter 29 King Zhongshun was caught

Outside the imperial city, Shui Rong was wearing a cyan embroidered robe, a sapphire ribbon, and a delicate gold crown with a vine pattern on his head. He looked very noble.

"Master, what are we going to do in the imperial city?"

Xiao Fuzi behind him had a puzzled look on his face. He originally thought that the prince was going to "Fengming Courtyard" to look for that foxy girl when he left the palace, but he never thought that he was coming to the imperial city.

Shui Rong shook the silver-white folding fan in his hand and said casually: "I came to the imperial city for my own reasons."

With that said, Shui Rong walked towards the imperial city. Although Xiao Fuzi was puzzled, but the master had spoken, he naturally had to follow closely. After passing the entrance of the imperial city, Xiao Fuzi approached and handed over the waistband of the Beijing Prince's Palace. It was easy Entering the imperial city.

Stepping into the imperial city, there is a central royal road paved with stone slabs. On both sides of the royal road, there is a thousand-step corridor with eaves and ridges, which is [-] steps long. Outside the thousand-buoy corridor, there is a vermilion tower more than six meters high. On both sides of the palace wall are the offices of Zongren Mansion and Liubu Yamen.

Shui Rong did not go towards the palace city, but walked to the left side of the palace wall of Qianbu Corridor. Because of his status as the Prince of Beijing County, no one stopped him, and he walked all the way to the Hubu Yamen.

In the inner hall of the Household Department, as soon as you enter the door, you can see an animal-headed incense burner, which constantly sprays refreshing incense. On the table in the middle are some books and tea sets, and sitting on it is a middle-aged man wearing a dragon python robe with five claws.

When the middle-aged man saw Shui Rong coming, he couldn't help but look stunned. He immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Xiao Liu, why are you here at the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

Shui Rong bowed his hands and said, "I have nothing to do, so I just came over to have a look. Cousin Zhongshun, please don't be surprised."

The man in front of him is Prince Zhongshun. The Hubu Yamen is responsible for the country's territory, fields, household registration, taxes, salaries and all financial matters. It is the money bag of the imperial court. Therefore, Emperor Yongkang relies heavily on him, so he lets Prince Zhongshun serve as his arm. Lead the Minister of Household Affairs.

King Zhongshun chuckled when he heard this, and scolded with a smile: "Xiao Shiliu, there is still a difference between you and me. Come on, let's go sit in the cubicle and have a rest."

With that said, Prince Zhongshun ordered other officials in the hall to continue working, and then took Shuirong to the cubicle.

There was a Kang in the compartment next to the window, which was covered with a large mattress woven with gold and embroidered with dragons, and a Kang table. King Zhongshun and Shui Rong sat separately. The clerk brought tea, and Shui Rong took it and took a sip when King Zhongshun said: "Xiao Shiliu, if you feel free, why don't you come to the Ministry of Household Affairs to help, so that you can share some of the burden for me."

Shui Rong raised his eyes and glanced at the kind-faced King Zhongshun. This was another attempt to recruit him. However, Shui Rong did not intend to participate in court affairs, and he came here for business.

"Cousin Zhongshun, it's not like I don't know how to be a bad-tempered person. I won't cause you any trouble if I am a person who does business."

King Zhongshun's expression did not change when he heard this. He originally had the attitude of giving it a try, and was not surprised by Shui Rong's rejection. He shook his head and said helplessly: "Yes, it seems that you are open-minded, unlike me, who is born with a hard life. "

After saying that, King Zhongshun raised his eyes to look at Shui Rong, and asked in a meaningful way: "You always go to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason. Tell me, what do you mean when you come to the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

King Zhongshun didn't believe Shui Rong when he told him to come and have a look.

Shui Rong was not embarrassed to be exposed. After all, this matter would have to be discussed in detail sooner or later, so he took advantage of the situation and said bluntly: "Cousin Zhongshun, let me tell you directly. I came here to borrow money from the Ministry of Household Affairs. I hope my cousin will be accommodating.”

Shui Rong came to the household department this time to borrow money. If he wanted to open a guild hall and do business, he must have capital. The Beijing Palace had tens of thousands of taels of silver in cash, but from Shui Rong's point of view, he would do business or not. If you want to do it, you have to do it big. The cash in the palace is not enough to support it.

Moreover, if Shui Rong withdraws so much cash from the palace, Princess Beijing will not say much, but she will definitely ask for details. In this case, it will be difficult for Shui Rong to explain. Instead of doing this, it is better to borrow a sum of money from the Ministry of Accounts. , I will make up for it after I make money. Anyway, the money borrowed from the account department does not require interest, so why not do it! ! !

King Zhongshun frowned when he heard this, with a puzzled look on his face: "Xiao Liu, you are in trouble now. It's not like you don't know what's going on in the Household Department. Now you haven't even settled the matter of recovering the owed money, and you're here to cause trouble again. This You’re not here to cause trouble for me.”

Shui Rong naturally knew about the situation in the Ministry of Household Affairs, which was that officials owed money to the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The capital is prosperous, and its prices are no better than elsewhere, so the required expenses are naturally higher. However, the salaries of the officials in the capital are not enough to maintain their expenses. In order to maintain their livelihood, they can only borrow money from the Ministry of Household Affairs. The emperor is sympathetic to his old ministers, so he opens the door to this. With one eye closed, who would have thought, it was like a hole was opened, and it became out of control. Many civil and military officials in the dynasty, especially the old ministers, owed money to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Prince's Palace of Beijing was among them. According to Shui Rong's knowledge, the palace owes nearly 0 taels of silver to the Ministry of Household Affairs. It's not that the palace doesn't have money, but everyone has borrowed it. The palace of Beijing can't be left behind. It doesn't have to be paid back anyway, so it's a big bargain. If you don't take advantage of it, then most of the ministers who owe money have the mentality that if you don't pay it back, I won't pay it back either, so it becomes a bad debt.

After Emperor Yongkang came to power, the treasury was at a loss. For this reason, Emperor Yongkang intended to collect the owed money, but it was easy to lend it out but difficult to get it back. Those old ministers cried out one by one about the misfortune, and Emperor Yongkang was worried about the Supreme Emperor, so he had no choice but to do it. The words of persuasion had little effect. In the end, only [-]% of the owed silver was recovered. The Ministry of Husbandry continued to collect the remaining part. Moreover, Emperor Yongkang had already issued an order strictly prohibiting officials from borrowing money from the Ministry of Husbandry. At this time, Shui Rong asked to borrow money. Isn’t it embarrassing for King Zhongshun? ! ! !

However, even if Shui Rong knew the inside story, he still asked the Ministry of Revenue to borrow money, which was not to make things difficult. What he wanted was to let Emperor Yongkang know about the matter. This could not only borrow the capital, but also show his attitude to Emperor Yongkang, killing two birds with one stone.So Shui Rong said: "Cousin, it's not that I won't pay back. It can be as short as one year or as late as two years. I will repay the old and new debts together."

It is impossible to make a profit in a short period of time. In one or two years, the difference should be the same.

"Oh" King Zhongshun looked at Shui Rong in surprise when he heard this. It was normal for the new debt to be paid. As the person who also held the account department, he naturally knew the details of the debts owed by the Beijing Palace. Shui Rong's statement about the old debt this time was obviously intentional. For this reason, if the Beijing Palace takes the lead in paying the arrears, it can play a leading role. Not to mention that all the arrears of the Ministry of Accounts can be recovered, at least [-]% or [-]% more can be recovered.

Thinking of this, King Zhongshun asked: "How much money do you want to borrow?"

Shui Rong understood what he said. It seemed that King Zhongshun understood what he meant. If he wanted to borrow money, he would naturally give benefits, and the old account was Shui Rong's benefit. I believe Emperor Yongkang would consider it more. After all, Shui Rong could be considered a favor. He's busy.

So Shui Rong said, "I want to borrow 10 taels of silver."

King Zhongshun's mouth twitched slightly when he heard this. He thought that Shui Rong was short of money, so he borrowed some silver to cover expenses. At most, it was only one or twenty thousand taels of silver for expenses. He never thought that it would be one hundred thousand. He thought it was Chinese cabbage?

"Xiao Liu, what are you borrowing so much money for?" King Zhongshun couldn't help but ask. If it was ten or twenty thousand, he would just lend it out without going to the Ministry of Accounts. But for 10 taels, the amount is quite large, and I'm afraid it would be difficult to Covering up, you can't go against Emperor Yongkang's will and make people laugh! ! !

Faced with Prince Zhongshun's inquiry, Shui Rong did not intend to hide anything. He stepped forward and whispered: "Brother Zhongshun, we are not outsiders. I will tell you directly. I want to open a club for people's entertainment and earn money." Some silver."

"Opening a club?" King Zhongshun had a dark look on his face, it's a bullshit club, a brothel is just a brothel, and he said it so fresh and refined, do you think he is a fool?

It's just that it's hard to say harsh words to "my" brothers, so I reminded him: "Xiao Shiliu, if you want to make money, what can't you do that is so bad that you have to do this?"

The dignified prince opened a brothel. If word spread, it would really bring disgrace to the royal family.

Shui Rong didn't take it seriously when he heard this, and explained: "Cousin, you don't know. Last time I went to the brothel and sat there for half an hour, spending 400 taels. It can be seen that the title of "Gold Selling Cave" is worthy of its name. Such a huge profit, I can’t do anything, but don’t worry, the guild hall is not a brothel, it’s all about performing arts but not selling one’s body, so there won’t be any nasty things, and the management of the guild hall is handled by others, so I won’t be involved and it won’t have any impact.”

King Zhongshun was speechless after hearing this. He did know about the equity participation, and he also had such an industry, but he never thought about opening a Laoshizi Guild Hall. He was really greedy and greedy for money without any boundaries.

"Yes, yes, I have nothing to do with your affairs. Let's just say hello to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and you will go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to withdraw money tomorrow." King Zhongshun saw that Shuirong had thought everything about it, so he simply ignored it. If it's difficult to get rid of the account of the Ministry of Revenue, then let Shui Rong go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The so-called Ministry of Internal Affairs is also an agency of the imperial palace. The Ministry of Internal Affairs imitated the six ministries of the Outer Dynasty and established different agencies. There are more than 50 agencies and the number of officials established is more than [-], which is almost twice the number of officials of the Six Ministries of the Outer Dynasty. It is mainly in charge of the royal family's meals, clothing, accommodation, farms and other matters. As long as the royal family deals with money, it is in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The general manager is held by the royal family and cannot be held by anyone who is not trusted by the emperor.

In the palace, there are rules for the salaries of the princes and concubines, but these rules cannot satisfy their luxurious life. The money of the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not require the approval of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and it is the royal family's private purse. Whenever there is a shortage of money, they will come to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to borrow it. King Zhongshun's move not only gave Shuirong some favor, but also did not affect the household department, killing two birds with one stone.
Shui Rong nodded slightly when he heard the words. Anyway, no matter where he borrowed the money, as long as he got the money, it would be fine. So Shui Rong responded, "Thank you very much, cousin. I'll make some money tomorrow, please help me."

King Zhongshun was very happy when he heard this, and laughed and scolded: "You still make money, just don't lose money. If you still don't pay by then, you can talk to the emperor yourself."

Shui Rong raised his eyes and looked at King Zhongshun who was gloating about his misfortune. He couldn't help but ponder in his heart. Was this a reminder to him to pay back the money?
But Shui Rong doesn't care. Anyway, he has great confidence that he can make money. Even if he is unlucky and loses a lot, he will apologize to Emperor Yongkang. For Emperor Yongkang, a mere 10,000 taels of silver is not worth it. At heart, what he cares about is the attitude of Prince Beijing. Even if the money is not enough, Emperor Yongkang will not care too much. If it is not possible, he will sell some of the palace's properties to pay off the debt, which means he has to spend more time coaxing Mrs. Beijing. Concubine.

But when he finished speaking, Shui Rong took advantage of the situation and said, "Cousin, whether I can make money depends on your strong support, cousin."

King Zhongshun couldn't help but feel happy when he heard this, and cursed: "I didn't lend you money. Isn't this considered a strong support?"

As soon as he finished speaking, King Zhongshun's expression changed. He had a bad feeling in his heart. He looked straight at Shui Rong and said warily: "What's wrong with you?"

Shui Rong had a bright face when he heard this, and said: "My cousin has a high position, and I want you to help me contact the branch of the Ministry of Rites and ask the Ministry of Rites to write a note. Except for those who have committed serious crimes, I will take care of all the other female relatives of the prisoners. Come on, you know how it is possible to open a club without a girl."

King Zhongshun's face was as black as coal, and he looked at Shui Rong with sharp eyes. "Good guy, you are so rude when you catch someone with wool!" ! ! !

(End of this chapter)